The Band Justice Force and the Shakuhachi
by aphrodite's dragon
Summary: When the citizens of Bandthom City catch a horrible disease, only the Band Justice Force and the legendary Shakuhachi can save them. not my story, see inside authors note
1. Chapter 1

_Aphrodite's Dragon: I'm posting this here on ff . net because a good friend of mine wrote it and posted it on fictionpress . com and then decided it also fit under the style of fanfiction. She was too lazy to make an account and thus asked me to post it for her. I'll pass on any reviews given to the story to her, but I suggest looking at her other stories on fictionpress as they're quite good. Her penname is StoryTellerKnight, and she's totally awesome. Everything from now on is all her. . . Enjoy!_

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This is based upon a true story from my experience in band. All the names have been changed in order to protect those involved from the rather of the Evil Band Director, here called Buchanenator. This story is an original work even though it uses names that would make it seem to be fanfiction.Only thenames are used, not the history or the plot line of thoseworks.The only reason that Batman and Happy Bunny are used is because these are the super powers those friends of mine have, and using another name would make the story untrue. I do not own Batman of Happy Bunny, but my friend, here called Cindy may own Batman, you'd have to ask her. I also do not own the rides "Indiana Joes and the Temple of the Forbidden Eye" or the "Tower of Terror", but this story is based upon the Band Tour we took to Disneyland and it just wouldn't be true without them.


	2. For Those Who Came In Late

Tucked in a little corner of the United States is a place known as Bandthom city. It is a safe haven for all Band Geeks of the world. Or, at least, it used to be. A few months ago, one of the leaders of Bandthom city, Ur-Saxon, left to go help the Band Geeks who were stuck living in the real world. When she left, the villainous Band Clique took over the city and held the two other leaders, Buchanenantor and Lord Swipkey hostage. Only a small group of Band Geeks, known as Cindy and her Band Geek friends were able to escape. While sitting glumly at the edge of the city by the old Tower of Power, a wonderful thing happened to them. A man known only as the Professor gave them a magical item called the pimp'en hat. This sparkly black top hat gave each of the friends super powers. Cindy became Batman, who could fight evil with super cool tools that she invented herself. Shelly became Happy Bunny. She could fight evil by taunting them into spontaneous combustion. Beth became the Future Upcoming Color Knight (also known as F.U.C.K.). She had the great Saber of Light and Rainbow Flag as her weapons. Grace had the power to cast spells with the songs she played on her ocarina. She was known as Ocarina Girl. Marissa had the power to write fictional characters into existence, so, of course, she became the Storyteller. Kate became the Seductress, and had the power to seduce anyone into liking anything. Becky was given the power to change into a gazebo, so she was known as Gazebo girl. Last but not least, the former Drum Major Jenny became Major Gock, and had the power to order anyone about with her gock block and super marching band commands. Becky was also given one last special item, the Grapefruit Seed Extract of Justice. Together, the Band Justice Force was able to defeat the villainous Band Clique and restore order to Bandthom City. They thought that they had saved it for good. They were wrong.


	3. Our Heroes, The Plague and Lord Swipkey

"Two more people were quarantined today," the Seductress announced as she opened the file folder in front of her. Since she was the Seductress, she wore a skanky black dress and a black mask. However, she did not like being the Seductress one bit, and had often tried to convince the Pimp'en Hat to give her a new super power. The best that the hat had come up with was a red satin cloak that the Seductress used to cover herself.

"At this rate," the Seductress continued. "Everyone in Bandthom City will be sick by the end of the month."

Batman, the leader of the Band Justice Force, leaned back into her chair. She of course, wore the classic batman outfit with the mask and the cape and the yellow utility belt and the bat on her chest.

The Band Justice Force was meeting in the Tower of Power, which had become their super secret hide out after they had placed the Pimp'en Hat onto it. They were meeting in reaction to a plague that had struck Bandthom City. As the Seductress had said, if they didn't figure out a cure soon, the whole city would be destroyed.

"This is only the third day," Batman sighed. "And we already have twenty four people down. Do we know anything about this disease yet?"

"No," The Future Upcoming Color Knight, or F.U.C.K as she was also called, replied. Her outfit was a bright red color guard costume with sequins and everything. She carried her Sabre of Light with her, and the Rainbow Flag was leaning against the wall. "But don't you think it's odd that the only people sick are those that we have connected to the villainous Band Clique?"

"We could have the aid of a new hero," Major Gock said. Of course her costume was a red and black marching band uniform.

"Or a new villain," Happy Bunny murmured darkly. Guess what her costume looked like.

"Wait!" Batman said, holding up her hand and looking around the briefing room. To her right were Happy Bunny and the Seductress. To her left were F.U.C.K., Gazebo Girl and Major Gock. "Where's Storyteller and Ocarina Girl?"

"I talked to them on the way up," Gazebo Girl said. Her costume was an oak colored spandex uniform with a blue cape and mask. There was an emblem on the front of her uniform of a Gazebo. "They were in the lab, trying to figure out what was causing the disease."

Batman scowled. "To the lab!"

------------------------------

The lab was located on the third floor of the Tower of Power. The Tower has seven levels total, each holding important materials to the Band Justice Force. The Lab was where most of the team had spent their time during this epidemic.

"It's not a disease," Storyteller announced when they entered. She wore black pants and a black shirt with a green Celtic designed shawl wrapped around her shoulder and a green pointed witch hat.

"Then what is it?" Batman demanded as she took a seat at the lab table.

"It's a frequency," Storyteller explained. "A high one. Too high to be perceived by the human ear, but not to high to hear. Prolonged exposure causes the symptoms we've been seeing. Mainly the insanity. Now, a bacteria is letting it off, and that's how it's spreading so fast. If we can kill the bacteria and we'll get rid of the frequency."

"How do we stop it?" Happy Bunny asked.

"Grapefruit Seed Extract of Justice!" Gazebo Girl cried, holding up the small container of the medicine.

"That should work to prevent it," Storyteller said. "But it's not the way to stop it."

"This is how we stop it," Ocarina girl said. She wore brown breeches and a blue tunic with a blue cape and a sea green Ocarina around her neck.

Ocarina Girl turned around her laptop so the rest of the Band Justice force could see. On the screen was a wooden flute with ancient writing all over it. "Shakuhachi. An ancient flute which has the power to destroy the bacteria, and with a little help from the Grape Fruit Seed Extract of Justice, will return everyone to normal."

"Are you sure that this is necessary?" Color Knight asked. "This is the Band Clique we're talking about. How about we just pass out the Grape Fruit Seed Extract of Justice to everyone and leave the Clique the way it is."

"We won't be able to pass it out quickly enough," Gazebo Girl said. "And what if this is a new villain? We might not be able to fight them on our own."

"Where is the Shakuhachi?" Batman asked.

"On an island," Ocarina said. "Off of Mexico."

"You're not serious!"

"It gets better," Storyteller sighed as she took over the computer. This time a picture of a temple appeared. "This is the Temple of the Forbidden Eye, and supposedly it's where the Shakuhachi is located. The temple has three important rooms, the Chamber of Earthly Treasures, the Fountain of Eternal Youth and the Observatory of the Future. In each room is a statue of the temple's god, Mara. If you look into Mara's eyes…"

"Something really bad will happen to you," Ocarina Girl finished. "Legend isn't to clear on what that is though/"

"So in order to stop this we need to go to some island in order to find some temple which is cursed by some god in order to find some flute that will save our arch-rivals?" F.U.C.K demanded. Ocarina Girl and Storyteller nodded.

Batman frowned. "This isn't a job for Batman of the Band Justice Force, it's a job for…"

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"…Cindy and her Band Geek Friends?" Lord Swipkey asked as he slowly took a seat upon his thrown. Lord Swipkey was a good ruler, even if he was a little scatter brained. However, he looked the part in his crown and purple robe.

"Yes," Batman said as she quickly bowed to the Lord of Bandthom City. "They are the only ones who can spot this epidemic."

"Okay cool," Lord Swipkey said. "So, you'll be here?"

"No, we have other arrangements," Batman said. "Lord Swipkey, you need to give the Band Geeks the state of the art equipment for this journey. They need to recover the Shakuhachi at all costs."

"Hey, you know, I've seen a picture of the Shakuhachi. It's really cool. All sorts of ancient inscriptions and…"

"Lord Swipkey!" Batman yelled.

"Yeah?"

"You need to call Cindy and her Band Geek friends right now!"


	4. New Knowledge and Friends

Several hours later, Cindy and her Band Geek Friends were fast asleep on the Band Mobile, also lovingly called 'the Antichrist' by Marissa. The Band Mobile was a gift to the leaders of Bandthom City from the Band Justice Force. The Band Mobile could work as any mode of transportation ever made. Right now it was a working as an airplane, and was being flown by colorguard member Becky. Throughout the six hour flight from Bandthom City to the island, the friends had changed pilots every forty-five minutes, so one person wouldn't be stuck flying the entire time. They had started the flight by watching the movie Ten Things I Hate About You, a favorite among the friends. Eventually they had fallen asleep, with only one person awake to run the Band Mobile.

Becky sighed as the Band Mobile began to beep, signaling that they were close the island and a decent place to land. Becky reached up and brought the intercom to her mouth. "Good morning everyone! Time to wake up, sorry to say. We are about to land in the jungles of Isla de los Hombres. That means that someone who knows how to land this thing needs to get up here before I crash!"

"Coming," Shelly grumbled as she slowly stood up and began to make her way to the pilot controls.

Becky bounced back into the cabin, her sandy colored pony tail bouncing as she went, and quickly got to work on preparing everyone their daily dose of Grape Fruit Seed Extract. The other Band Geeks slowly got up and settled on a breakfast of ice cream, which was found in the freezer on the Band Mobile. They had picked some food up from Hometown Buffet before leaving, but so far only the ice cream looked edible.

"Everyone ready for their Grape Fruit Seed Extract?" Becky asked as she handed out glasses of the medicine mixed with orange juice to everyone. There was a collective groan from the group, but they all drank it down.

"I left some with Lord Swipkey," Becky said with a sigh. "I just hope he remembers to take it."

"He won't," Marissa said. "The Band Justice Force sent someone to him once every ten minutes, and it still took him three hours to call us.,"

"Still, if Lord Swipkey catches this plague, the only leader Bandthom City will have left is Buchanenator," Kate said with a shudder.

"Or Grouper," Cindy said with a scowl.

"Sit back everyone, we're coming in for a landing," Shelly announced.

The Band Geeks quickly jumped up and belted themselves into the chairs that had just appeared in the cabin. The landing was bumpy, since the Band Mobile wasn't only landing, but transforming into an off road RV.

"And we are fully landed and shifted," Shelly said as she settled back into the drivers seat. "Anyone want to help with the map?"

"Coming," Grace said as she unbuckled herself and made her way up to the front seat.

"I think we have arrived at a good point to have a briefing," Cindy said as she hit a button in the back. The interior of the RV shifted from a bunch of airplane chairs into a couple tables with grounded chairs. A screen and a projector appeared from the screen, and a computer rested on one of the tables. "Who would like to start?"

"Well, we already know that it's called the Temple of the Forbidden Eye." Marissa said as she moved to the seat by the computer. She quickly brought up the picture of the temple. After giving the others a chance to study it, she moved on to a picture of a woman. The woman was quite beautiful, except for her eyes. They had no pupils or iris', they were just white and empty. "The ruling goddess of the temple is known as Mara. Basically, Mara is a two faced god. She's kind and generous to those who come to her for help, but she is easily offended. Now, as you can see, Mara has no pupils or irises, otherwise she is a flawless beauty. Legend states that she was born that way."

Marissa hit a button on the computer, changing the picture from Mara to a three pictures of different rooms. "The three most important rooms of the temple are the Chamber of Earthly Riches, the Fountain of Youth and the Observatory of the Future. These rooms are said to have powers…"

"We know, if you look into the eye of Mara, you're in trouble," Becky interrupted.

"Not just that," Marissa said. "The Chamber of Earthly Riches will give you your hearts desire, the Fountain of Youth keeps a person young and the Observatory of the future allows one to see their future."

"You must be joking,"

"So she becomes offended when you look at that one bit of her that is imperfect?" Jenny asked.

Marissa nodded. "Basically."

"Why didn't the artists who built the temple just draw in pupils?" Beth asked.

"They did," Grace said as she turned back in her chair so she could watch the meeting from the front. "But the pupils of Mara in and around the temple disappeared."

Cindy frowned. "Beth, how are you planning on getting this problem out of our way so we can safely travel through the chambers?"

"Well, see how you can see the eyes in this picture?" Beth asked. "Remember the Basilisk in Harry Potter? If we look at if through something else instead of straight at it, we should be safe."

"So the night vision goggles?" Marissa asked.

Beth nodded. "We also have a big canvas to tie around the eyes. That'll be easy enough."

"Perfect," Cindy said. "Now Grace, tell me about the inscriptions."

"Well, it's all in the temple," Grace said. "Some describe the rooms within the temple. Well, supposedly."

"Supposedly?" Shelly repeated.

"Well, nobody has seen any extra rooms, so they're not sure if the translations they've made are correct. There are a lot of mentions of the Shakuhachi in the anteroom, but since they haven't found any of the extra rooms mentioned with it, they're not sure if the translations are correct."

"You mean to tell me that we're not even sure if this thing exists?" Beth asked.

"Oh no, we're sure," Grace said. "The temple isn't the only place where it's mentioned, and all other sources say that the Shakuhachi existed in the temple. There was also a picture taken of it in the 1940's by a member of the excavation crew."

"So let's ask him where it is," Beth suggested.

"He was found dead with his camera," Marissa said. "They saw the flute when they developed the film."

"Oh."

"Well, if anyone can figure this out, it's you Grace," Cindy said. "Kate, explosives?"

"Most of the outer halls have been excavated in search of the extra rooms that Grace mentioned," Kate said. "Nothing has been found through that so far. The only places that haven't been touched are the three main chambers. The people are afraid that if those rooms are excavated it could interfere with the power of the chambers."

"Suggestions?" Cindy asked.

"We'll see when we get there," Kate said. "We did bring all sorts of explosives, so we should be able to blow the walls with minimal damage to the rest of the temple."

"Well, while we're on the subject… Jenny, tell me about the temple itself."

"It's a design of its own, being closest to the Aztec temples in design," Jenny said as she took over the computer. As she talked, she flipped the screen around to show pictures of what she was talking about. "And definitely over done with the traps. You start off going down a long tunnel, with various runes lining the walls. First room is the anteroom, which Grace already mentioned. After that is the obelisk room, which is also pretty tame. Next is the spike room. If you hit the wrong stone iron spikes come out of the ceiling and floor and the two begin to compress on each other."

"Wonderful," Becky muttered.

"The next room has diamond shaped stones on the floor. If you step on one of those, a column will descend from the ceiling and squash you. The last room is the rotunda. There's nothing bad there, and then you come to the Chamber of Destiny. This room is filled with mirrors. At the end of the Chamber is three doors, each lead to the Observatory of the Future, Chamber of Earthly Riches and the Fountain of Youth respectively."

"I hope that the briefing is almost over," Shelly called. "We're almost there."

"Almost," Cindy said. "Shelly, you're in charge of the camp. Make sure to keep it positive, keep the workers happy and such. And of course Becky, you're the medic. Keep the Grape Fruit Seed Extract ready along with any other drugs that we may need."

"Right," the group agreed as Shelly pulled the RV to a halt and parked it. The door was pulled open revealing a middle aged Mexican man.

"Greetings, greetings my friends!" he said. "Welcome to Isla de los Hombres and Mara's Temple."

"Mara's temple?" Cindy asked as she stepped out of the Band Mobile and shook the man's hand. "I thought that it was called the Temple of the Forbidden Eye?"

"By those who visit," the man said, offering his hand to the other Band Geeks as they stepped out of the Band Mobile. "But to those who live here it is simply called Mara's Temple. It's shorter."

The Band Geeks let out a chuckle at the joke, which caused the man to break out into a smile.

"I am called Miguel, and I am your liaison from the island's government. We couldn't be more excited to have people from Bandthom City here, looking for the Shakuhachi. We are all truly honored."

"Miguel?" Cindy asked as they began to walk through the camp towards the temple. "What are our chances of finding the flute?"

"I truly do not know," Miguel said. "There is much evidence that the Shakuhachi exists, but very few have see it and lived to tell the tale."

Marissa and Grace exchanged a glance. They hadn't known that anyone still living had seen the Shakuhachi.

"We could really use some interviews with those people," Grace said.

"Sadly, most of them have passed on," Miguel said. "And the ones that haven't… They live in los Hombres' Institution for the Mentally Ill."

"Oh," Grace muttered.

"Because no one believed them?" Kate asked.

"Because they had lost their minds to the fear of what they had seen within the temple," Miguel said softly. "Oh my friends, I worry so much about you! You who are brave enough to look for a device that kills men or drives them mad. Is this flute truly so important?"

"Yes," Cindy said.

"And we're not men," Marissa added. "So consider this a whole new statistic."

"Yes, yes, of course my friends," Miguel said as the exited the camp and caught their first view of Mara's Temple. "Welcome, my friends, to the Temple of the Forbidden Eye."

The temple was a marvelous sight on its own, but what stood out the most to the friends was the giant statue before it. It was a statue of Mara, starring down at them with covered eyes.

"Forbidden indeed," Cindy muttered.


	5. Temple Tour

The next morning the friends met in the Band Mobile for another briefing. The day before had been spent working as they set up camp. They had all wanted to get a peek at the temple that day, but by the time they were done, it was too late. Hours after the sun rose the next morning, they were ready to explore the temple.

"We'll all make the first exploration together," Cindy announced. "That way we can make notes on what we need and what's already there."

"Are we planning on going into the chambers?" Beth asked. Cindy nodded. "I'll go get the night vision goggles," she sighed as she stood and left the Band Mobile.

"No point in making her get them herself," Cindy said as she stood. "Let's go."

The friends followed her lead and prepared their own packs (with the much needed night vision goggles) and started the walk over to the temple. They paused at the entrance and stared up at statue of Mara before them.

"What's that say Grace?" Cindy asked, pointing to the runes above the door.

"Standard translation dictates: 'beware of the eyes of Mara.'"

"They really like to stress that, don't they?" Beth asked.

"It's all over the temple."

"My friends! Wait, my friends, wait!"

The friends turned to see Miguel rushing over to them. His pack was in disarray and he wore night the night vision goggles on his head.

"Miguel, what are you doing?" Cindy asked as Marissa and Beth took his pack and repacked it before placing the night vision goggles safely inside.

"You are not planning on going in there alone?" Miguel asked. He gasped when they nodded their heads. "No, I must go with you! It is Mara's command."

"Grace?"

"There are some runes that say that a person can not go any farther into the temple without a servant of Mara," Grace said. "I didn't think it was important because this temple hasn't had people serving it in years."

"What do you think tour guides are?" Miguel asked. "I am a servant of Mara. That is part of why I was chosen as your liaison."

"So you've been inside the temple?" Marissa asked.

Miguel nodded. "Yes, many times."

Marissa gave Cindy a small shrug. Cindy sighed. "Do you need to go into the chambers with us?"

"No, just to the Chamber of Destiny," Miguel replied.

"Guys, look at this," Grace called. She had made her way over to the temple and was standing under the entrance, studying the wall. The others raced over to her saw what she was starring at immediately. It was a picture of Mara.

"It's the temple," Grace muttered.

"How do you figure?" Beth asked.

"The observatory of the future," Grace explained, pointing to the jewel around Mara's neck. "She's holding the Chamber of Earthly Riches." Grace moved her hand to the bowl of fruit Mara was holding. "And that," she pointed to the jug of water Mara was pouring onto the ground. "Is the fountain of youth."

"Fruit?" Becky asked.

"To each their own," Marissa replied.

"Look not into the eye of Mara and you shall receive the gift of eternal youth, earthly riches or future knowledge," Grace read, running her hand across the inscriptions.

"If I know the lay out of this place," Jenny chirped. "We should be coming up on the anteroom."

"Kate, has that room ever been excavated?" Marissa asked.

"No," Kate said. "That's the room with all the ruins. They didn't want to risk the chance of losing valuable information with the ruins."

Jenny hadn't lied when she said the room was filled with ruins. Grace instantly had her video camera out and slowly began to tape every inch of the wall.

"Kate is right," she said. "We can't risk excavating these walls."

"I wasn't thinking about the walls," Marissa said as she knelt down on the ground and tapped the stones. "I'm thinking about going through the floor."

"Think that will work?" Cindy asked.

"I can't tell if there is anything under here," Marissa sighed as she stood up. "And I won't until we actually dig. However, this is the only room that hasn't been excavated."

"Besides the chambers," Kate broke in.

"Why haven't those rooms been excavated?" Beth asked. "It seems like a good place to start."

"We're afraid that if we excavate the chamber, the magic surrounding them will no longer work," Miguel said.

"Well, I don't want to destroy these people's way of life," Marissa said. "We should try this room first and than look into the possibilities around the chambers."

"What's next?" Cindy asked Jenny.

"The Obelisk room," Jenny replied.

"Ah! The obelisk of doom!" Miguel gasped. "Oh my friends, go no further, for that room is a place of death!"

"You do tours here a lot, don't you?" Beth asked.

"Three times a week," Miguel replied, holding three fingers out to Beth.

"Figures," she muttered.

"Grace?" Cindy asked.

"It was given the name 'Obelisk of Doom' in 1935, but not because of the Obelisk itself shows pictures of the four perils."

"Four perils?" Becky asked.

"Death by fire, rats, spikes and snakes," Grace explained.

"So, if it's not called the Obelisk of Doom for that reason, why do they call it that?" Kate asked.

"I'll show you," Grace said, beckoning them forward into the Obelisk Room.

"That's really pleasant to look at," Becky muttered as she studied the Obelisk. "Are you sure that's not why they put the 'doom' in the name?"

"Positive," Grace replied, motioning to a blocked door on the side. "That door used to lead down to a crocodile pit. In 1935 they were excavating the area, looking for the Shakuhachi when there was a cave-in. A majority of the workers and three archeologists were killed."

"I don't know," Kate muttered, exchanging a glance with Becky. "I think the four perils are worse."

"Did they ever continue excavating the area?" Marissa asked, putting a hand on the door.

"No, the lead archeologist ordered the area closed," Grace said.

"Well, I vote we try again," Marissa said, stepping back.

"Do you guys hear something?" Beth asked. Everyone glanced at her. She was standing near the hallway that lead to the next room.

"Must be the bats," Jenny said.

"Bats?" Kate asked warily.

"Yeah," Jenny continued. "They filled the next chamber with bats."

"Really?" Cindy asked, clearly excited.

"The Rabid Bat Cave," Miguel supplied.

"Come on," Cindy said, leading her friends through the hallway and into the Bat Cave. About a quarter of the way in, the bats dropped down from the celling and flew over them, screeching as they went. Everyone except Cindy and Kate ducked down out of their way. Cindy was excited to be around bats again, but Kate let out a scream.

"Kate, are you afraid of bats?" Cindy asked in disbelief.

"No," Kate said with a shrug. "The author just needed someone to be and I volunteered."

"Oh," Cindy said, giving the others a baffled yet amused look before they continued on.

"Look at this," Grace said, point to the wall. "There are some ruins here."

"What do they say?" Shelly asked.

"It's hard to make out," Grace replied. "These walls have been worn down by the bats. I don't see anything that relates to the Shakuhachi."

"Probably just more warning about the 'eyes of Mara'" Beth scowled.

"I'll get what I can on tape," Grace continued as she scanned it with her tape recorder. "But I'll need to be in and out of here in order to decipher it. There wasn't any mention of this in my notes."

"Good, maybe it can help us," Cindy said.

"Can you read any of it, Grace?" Shelly asked.

"Ah, I can make out 'deadly traps, hidden passage, eternal doom. virtue."

"Exactly, more warnings," Beth huffed.

"We have better keep moving," Cindy said. "Grace, we'll make sure to get you in here later, so you can try and translate that."

Again the team moved on, past the Bat Cave and through another hallway. The path to the next room actually had something that resembled a door leading into it.

"What's this room?" Marissa asked as she looked into it without making a move to enter. The room was way too contained for her taste, and by now they should have come across some traps.

"It could be the spike room," Jenny said as she pointed above the entrance. "Grace, what does that say?"

Grace stepped up and looked at the ruins that Jenny was pointing at. "Let's see. 'The gates of doom are ever open.'"

"Definitely the Spike room."

"Where's the trigger?" Marissa asked.

"Step back," Jenny ordered. The others did as she said while Jenny moved her hand to the wall next to the door. Carefully, she pushed down on one of the stones.

Instantly a stone rolled over from the side, covering the entrance. The group listened uneasily to the ceiling in the other room lower itself to the ground. After a few minutes, they heard the ceiling lifting up again as the stone rolled away.

"Do we need to worry about any stones inside?" Marissa asked, stepping forward again.

"Not until the next room."

"Go," Cindy ordered.

Marissa started through the spike room, subconsciously avoiding the holes in the floor. The others followed, using the same caution.

"That's the Hall of Descending Blocks," Jenny said as the stopped before the next room.

"The one where if you step on the wrong stone you get squashed?" Marissa asked as she leaned into the room.

"Yeah, watch out for the one with the arrows," Jenny warned.

"I know," Marissa said as she shifted her pack over so she could grab a piece of chalk out of it.

"You're going to mark a path?" Cindy asked.

"Yeah," Marissa replied as she looked down at the ground.

"Do you think-" Grace started to ask, but Shelly sent her a look before glancing at Miguel.

"No, I've got it," Marissa said.

The entrance to the room was bordered with arrow stones. Thankfully, none of the stones were very large and she was able to get over the first row rather easily. Every time she stepped on a safe stone, Marissa leaned over and marked it with the chalk. The others followed the zig-zag path through the room safely and stepped out into the Rotunda.

"Oh my friends, we are almost there," Miguel said. "See, this is the sarcophagus stone. It is an ancient calendar."

"'Plow the field, plant the seed, keep the harvest tribute to Mara,'" Grace read, placing her fingers on the stone.

"Which makes that the Chamber of Destiny," Marissa said as she pointed to the steps that lead to the next room.

"And the three chambers are beyond that," Beth added.

The two pulled their night vision goggles out of their packs and started towards the Chamber of Destiny. Miguel suddenly stood in their way.

"What?" Beth demanded.

Miguel pointed to the writing above the stairwell. "'The pure of heart are protected beneath the watchful eye of Mara. Woe to the unworthy who pass beneath.' Why have you come, my friends?"

"We told you, we're looking for the Shakuhachi," Cindy said, walking over to Miguel. "Our people are in trouble and it's the only thing that can help them."

"What are you willing to do, friend Cindy, in order to get the flute?"

"Anything we can," Cindy replied.

"Short of destroying the island's economic basis," Kate added.

"Your hearts are pure, Mara welcomes you to her temple," Miguel said, stepping aside. "Choose your door wisely."

"Aren't you coming?" Becky asked.

"This is a journey you must make by yourselves."

"Come on," Marissa said, before climbing the steps to the Chamber of Destiny.

Unlike the rest of the temple, the Chamber of Destiny held no torches. The only light in the room was coming from a candle on the alter, and it was covered by blue glass. Mirrors covered the walls of the room.

"Spooky," Beth muttered as she looked around.

"Hey guys!" Becky said, pointing to the wall on their right. Above the mirrors were three small masks of Mara.

"Those mirrors look like they open," Shelly said.

"They do, into the chambers," Jenny explained.

"How do we open them?" Marissa wondered out loud as she stepped towards them. After a few steps something appeared in the mirrors.

"What's that?" Kate asked.

"It's writing," Grace said. "'Behold the gifts of Mara.'"

When she finished talking, the mirrors swung open, revealing the three chambers.

"Do you think we should switch now?" Becky asked, glancing back to make sure that Miguel hadn't followed them.

"No," Cindy said.

"Goggles," Beth ordered, pulling hers down over her head. Everyone took theirs out and quickly pulled them on.

"Which door?" Cindy asked.

"It doesn't matter," Jenny replied. "We'll probably search through all of them before we're done."

"Far right, the Chamber of Earthly Riches," Marissa said as she moved towards the door.

"Why?" Cindy asked as they hurried after her.

"Lucky," Grace replied.

Cindy shrugged as they stepped into the chamber. It had been made with simple bronze. Altars lined the sides of the room, holding small tokens that had been giving to Mara. At the head of the room sat a great statue of Mara, holding an empty gold bowl in her hands.

"Who wants to volunteer to look into the eyes?" Kate asked.

"Already done," Marissa said. "It seems like the goggles work."

"Good," Cindy said, looking around. "Do you see anything that might be able to help us?"

"Well." Marissa said, looking up at the statue. "It can't be that easy."

She walked up the steps to Mara and rested her hands on the bowl the goddess was holding. Instantly it was filled to the top with gold flutes, none of which looked even remotely like the Shakuhachi.

"Figured as much," Marissa muttered, picking up a flute.

"Oh my god," Cindy laughed, joining her. "Do these things even play?" Cindy picked on up and tried to play it. It let out a horribly flat A. "Eww!"

"We might as well take one," Shelly said. "That note would kill the dead again."

Cindy laughed, but replaced the flute in the bowl. "We had better go. We have a lot of work to do."


End file.
